An executive of a farmers' organization who was charged with colliding with police while driving a vehicle carrying agricultural machinery during a rally in front of the National Assembly was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
On the 10th, Judge Kim Jae-eun of the Criminal Division 13 at the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Kim Jae-young, Secretary General of the Busan-Gyeongnam Federation of the National Peasants' Federation, who was indicted on charges of obstructing official duties, to one year in prison with a three-year suspension and ordered 120 hours of community service.
The court stated the reason for sentencing, saying, "The defendant obstructed official duties and the legitimate exercise of public authority, thereby undermining the legitimate national function of maintaining order at the rally," and "the defendant's guilt is recognized."
Earlier, Secretary General Kim drove a vehicle carrying agricultural machinery at the '7.4 National Farmers' Rally' held in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, in the afternoon of July 7, and collided with police officers who tried to stop him. At that time, the National Peasants' Federation and other farmers' organizations held the rally to condemn the government's policy of expanding imported agricultural products.
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